Discussion
Preparing for a Crisis: Pandemic
Contingency planning prepares an organization to respond in the best possible manner to an unexpected crisis or emergency. It is based on strategic planning and management decisions made in advance that will determine how resources, communications, and logistics will be handled when such circumstances might arise. Contingency planning is often a vital part of an organization''s risk management policy, especially when exceptional circumstances, even if unlikely, could bring about catastrophic results.
In this week's Discussion, imagine you are a leader in your organization, or an organization with which you are familiar, facing a worldwide pandemic as presented in the H1N1 case study. Review your organization's strategic plans or contingency plans, if available, as well as the Learning Resources for this week.
Post by Day 3 an explanation of the threat and risk to your organization in terms of this H1N1 pandemic. Describe your vulnerabilities and what might be the impacts to your organization and stakeholders if services are disrupted. As a leader, explain how you might use strategic planning and contingency planning processes to prepare for such a crisis in the future.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources and outside scholarly resources. Your initial discussion posting should be at least 100 words in length, include a minimum of two scholarly sources, use in-text citations, have a reference list in accordance with APA 6th edition formatting standards, and include level 1 headings to define the sections of your post.
Contingency Planning for Your Organization
External shocks such as pandemics, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters have a high degree of risk and uncertainty, and can have rapid and dramatic impacts on organizations. Because these events are often unpredictable as to their location, timing, and scale, it is difficult for leaders to forecast such events or to foresee the full implications and impacts. However, leaders can prepare for such events by assessing the risks to the organization and having robust and clearly articulated contingency plans in place so that they are able to act quickly and effectively.
To complete:
In the Group Wiki, write by Day 5 your response to the following:
Using the information and data you have collected to date regarding the external environment that your organization may be operating in within the next 5 years, explain what the major risks are to your organization and how you would use contingency planning to be prepared for such events.